Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Why am I doing a baby back ribs video in the dead of winter. I love how they taste. Sorry I don't have a more interesting answer for you, but I'll be damned if I'm going to let the earth's periodical tilting away from the sun prevent me from enjoying these tasty pieces of pork.I'll be the first to admit this is not the best technique for doing ribs. You just can't replace slowly roasting the meat over smoky coals, but, that said, this baked in the oven version is way beyond respectable.I've always found baby back ribs a very user-friendly product. Unless you severely over or undercooked them, they're pretty hard to mess up. I know I'm going to get all kinds of tips and tricks for the ultimate rib – the plastic wrap, the steaming, the braising, the marinating – but quite frankly, I've never seen the need.Maybe this summer I'll try some of the more interesting ideas, but for this early January, this will do just fine. Speaking of ideas, yes, those are chicharrones on the plate of ribs. You're welcome.

This works with literally any dry rub and barbecue sauce combo. I've posted a basic, all-purpose rub recipe below, in case you're interested. For the sauce, I've of course used Michele's SFQ, but any premium quality barbecue sauce will work.

Anyway, if you're in the mood for a little virtual trip into summer, I hope you give this technique a try. Enjoy!

97 comments:

I'm glad a popular source of food information (you :P) finally just came out and said that the ribs should have a bit of bite and not just fall right off the bone. The head chef and I were talking about that very same thing the other day at work. We live in Georgia and unfortunately there are a lot of people who prefer having their ribs resemble pulled pork which to me completely defeats the purpose of ribs. Thanks for sticking it to them!

@Anonymous if you do beef ribs you'll want to cook them for a bit longer (the bigger bones slows down the cooking process i guess), and you will definitely need to take the membrane off the back of the ribs because the membrane on beef ribs is waaaay tougher than pork.

My Baby Back Rib loving husband can't stop singing that song. But, I will still make these for him tonight. Adore your blog, I share it with friends and family. So many favorites already: pumpkin pancakes, chicken parmesan bake, Arroz con pollo, baked rainbow trout, pork tenderloin diablo...so many more. You're the best!

Chef John, I love your recipes but what's with the Language...? I refer tons of people to your website and have learned so much. I look forward to reading your blog everyday but the last thing I want to here is GD. I think very highly of your blog and passion you have for others to learn how to simply Enjoy food. Thanks for listening.

Hi,Chef John. Try with Miso paste base BBQ sauce. There's no such a thing, so obviously, you have to be creative and make your own, but Miso paste (RED or WHITE) and Pork go very well. I would add brown sugar, ginger, and garlic, for the basic, then add some others (maybe marmalade or apricot jam) to make a wonderful sauce. Just an idea.

@qumqkin77 have you actually made the sauce before or is it just an idea? Could you email me with a more detailed description of your concept please? it sounds very interesting. my email is brianremes@gmail.com Thanks!

This looks very good.I will try this soon with some wild hog ribs.On a side note I have to agree with the post above about the language(using Gd).Other than that I love your blog an read it almost daily.Your recipes are great. Johnny Scott from Georgia

I made these the other night and couldn't get over the silence at the dinner table as my family devoured the ribs...the dry rub turned out well and I'm thinking of using up the extra by doing this with chicken.

Hey, Chef John -- what do you think about taking a cue from the pork shoulder technique, and putting a small ramekin of liquid smoke/water with the ribs inside the wrapped foil? Perhaps on top of the bone side, in the middle..

(And yes, the ultimate answer is, "Try it and see how it works!".. and I think I will next time ;)

I've made a LOT of barbecued ribs in my days - and thought I already had the best method figured out, but I have to say that after making 'the best ribs I've ever eaten' yesterday following your instructions, I will never go back. The only difference is that I took a few extra minutes and stripped the membrane off, I really dislike the mouth feel of that stuff!

Amazing John - now I just need to find a really good barbecue sauce recipe! (I'm in Canada and don't believe I can buy SF up here!)

Hey Chef John - Big fan of your work. I will be making about five racks of ribs and pulled pork for this super sunday. I dont want to wake up at 3:00am and put the pork shoulder in, take it out at 3:00pm and then put the ribs in until 7pm (is that even long enough?). What do you think of making the pulled pork on Saturday. Will it dry out in the fridge or not taste as good? Any thoughts are very welcome.

Hi Chef, thanks for helping me become a better cook. Pulled Pork, Ribs, No-Knead Ciabatta...you are always my first source. Love all you videos. Can't wait to build up the courage to do your pork belly dish. Greetings from Budapest Hungary, land of the Mangalica Pig.

Excellent recipes and presentation. I learn a lot! Keep up the good work.

But I too need to agree with others who are offended by using the name of God in frivolous ways. i will continue to recommend your site (hopefully without a caution).Regarding Julie’s “Lay off the chef…we are all big boys and girls.” That’s EXACTLY WHY we would not use the name. Big boys/girls don’t want to be offensive. It all comes back to being intentional with everything we say. While it is not a violation of the third commandment necessarily, it is offensive speech to most, that must be used with wisdom and discretion

Thanks, John, for hearing your faithful viewers. I’m making the RIBS FOR COMPANY TOMORROW!!

Thanks! But, "god damn sexy" is not offensive to most people, only a small vocal minority (who btw assume everyone thinks like they do(. No one I know would have a problem with it, especially in this context. It's only offensive if you take it that way. Lastly, I know God, and she's fine with it.

I wish people would stop criticizing Chef John, and just be thank- full that he allows us to view these awesome recipes for free. He can say whatever he wants…it’s his show. Chef John, I want to thank you, I have the ribs in my oven right now, and can’t wait to eat them!!! Please don’t stop what you’re doing. You are doing an awesome job!!!

YOU are a genius sir... I double the stack, added 2 hrs, and they were fall off the bone! My brother in law had 3 helpings, and that is a high compliment... Thank you so much for the recipe, this website, and your amazing zeal for cooking. Our best to you from Ontario!

Just made these for my dad/family for Father's Day! I know you say that dads like to barbeque and stuff, but as I'm not much of a grill aficionado, these were perfect for me to tackle. They were a hit! (and I think my dad enjoyed not having to make the BBQ for a change!) Fell off the bone sooo perfectly. yummm. Thanks for another great recipe Chef John!

What PERFECT timing: your "winter" barbecue recipe surfaced during my Internet search and Michele's BBQ sauce just arrived. My gosh - that's one fabulous BBQ sauce! I've never tasted anything like it. I love the complexity, the different layers of flavors. She's used spices that would never have occurred to me and some I can't quite identify. Please thank her for me!

Seems like you'd require longer "baking" time if your making more that one rib rack.I had 3 racks in there, took them out after 2 hours, followed the bbq sauce protocol only to discover that the meat wasn't pulling clean off the bone. I just covered them and baked an additional hour at 250 degrees.

OMG, made these ribs for dinner tonight. The ABSOLUTE BEST ribs I've ever eaten. I'm not a rib fan - too much work for too little flavor/substance. My husband could eat ribs every day - conjures up wonderful memories from his past - growing up with master southern grillsmen. We both LOVED these ribs. Finger lickin' good. Tender. Tasty. Flavorful. Smoky, cause I finished them on the outside grill. Beautiful. Lean. Yummy! Thanks, Chef John, for making me look like a marvelous cook.

Chef John's recipes rule. You have to try his perfect prime rib recipe. Incredible! I had 28 people at my Derby party. Made 20 pounds of prime rib (two 10 pounders)in the same oven using the recipe. It came out magnificent. Perfectly rare/medium rare. The crowd roared. And, I got to eat the ribs the next day.

Thanks for walking me through barbecue ribs! I made these this evening - together with your roast potatoes - and they both came out great. I only discovered your website earlier this week, but I expect I'll be back, and soon. Keep up the good work!

Thank you so much for this wonderful Baby Back Ribs Recipe. I must say I am not a pork fan... I did make this recipe for a family I am a Nanny for. The Kids said wow it is like restaurant ribs. The dry rub and then the glazing every 10 to 8 min made the 4 racks of ribs look perfect I only did it 4 times. I have one rib myself and I will defiantly make this for my family Whoop whoop I now can find pork I enjoy. Thank you so much Mr. J

I hope I haven't completely messed up my timing! I put in 2 racks of bbr'a and one rack of spare ribs. Chef or someone else that has tried this, should I start putting the sauce on after 2 hours or do I need to wait the additional 2-3 hours??? Thanks for your help!

My ribs may never touch another grill in the future. They came out tender and firm and delicious. I used regular BBQ sauce 3 times to coat. I prepared these by myself and for myself. Chef I hope you don't mind that in the future when I serve these to others I refer to them as MY SECRET recipe.

Dear John - would be grateful to see again the recipe of the glaze that you were initially using in this recipe (the one containing honey and moustard) - I've cooked this marvellous dish on Ney Year's Eve and would be happy to repeat it in the original interpretation! Thank you so much for greatest recipes on earth!

Chef John, the ribs look beautiful but I was wondering if they are really hot? I love combination of peppers in the recipe but I am afraid they will be too spicy for kids? Thank you for your wonderful recipes! :-)

I put half of cayenne and it was perfect for kids. I also had spare ribs and cooked them 4 hours before adding sauce. They were folk tender but weren't falling out the bones. Great tasting ribs! Thanks again!

Just want to say that I believe you meant no disrespect to anyone's beliefs when you said GD.

We are here for your recipes and have no right to dictate what you should or shouldn't say anyways!

Your family must smile and laugh alot! From what I see and hear your personality is addictive! You always make me smile!! :) Thank You for your amazing recipe collection and time it took to make the videos, we are so blessed by them and you!!!

I will have to use spare ribs, since I'm finding it very difficult to get my hands on baby back ribs here in Germany...I'll probably leave a comment as to how long they took to get tender.

Also, I don't really care for pork rinds and would like to serve the ribs with something more wholesome, maybe some veggies or salad. Do you have any good suggestions for side dishes to go with ribs? Thanks!

Here in Serbia we are eating a lot of meat, but is should be just salted and that is it. We are trying to learn people that you need to experiment with spices and sauces that you can find on market here. However we can not find real american bbq sauces, only something simmilar, so we are bringing them abourd from our trips around the world. Your blog is our favorite and we tried couple of your recepies and all were fantastic. Thank you chef John and keep on the good job.

What's with all this talk about God here in the comment section of a baby back rib recipe?

Anyway, it just came to my realisation that there's a difference between baby back ribs and spare ribs -- and I don't even know which ones are mine! But I believe the main point of the video + blog post is the technique, rather than the specifics of the dry rub, BBQ sauce or usage of God's name.

My ribs just came out of the oven - smothered in my own BBQ sauce with four secret ingredients (thanks for the inspiration)...I got the brush strokes going big time and my ribs are PERFECT thanks to you, Chef John...it is my first time making them and after watching your video, I went in with confidence. <3 I'll definitely be making these again in the near future!﻿ You ROCK...

Not to be nit-picky about your writing, Chef John, but I noticed a little problem with the first sentence of this blog post."Why am I'm doing a baby back ribs video in the dead of winter." If you read it again, you might see what caught my attention. lolAnyways, I making these ribs again using your method because they turned out so God damn sexy last time! My sweetie wasn't a big ribs fan before, which I thought had to be some sort of disease. I made your ribs and he's CURED! I have another batch in the oven right now, and "We Got The Beat" by the Go-Go's in on the radio. My sweetie is running around the house singing, "We Got Pig Meat" in time with the music. Because of you. now when I made ribs, I get serenaded in the most adorable way! Thanks again, Chef John! Lovin' you!

Chef John - I used your method for cooking bbq ribs today and I have to say they came out perfect. 99% cooked perfect 1% a bit over done (the smaller end pieces). I used the rub (sorry not a fan, too hot for us)and a copycat Tony Roma bbq sauce. My wife and I couldn't stop raving how good they turned out.Thank you for the recipe.

I made these ribs this evening; until yesterday I'd never even heard of baby back ribs, by that or any of its other names. I used the dry rub on this page plus your version of Alabama style white barbecue sauce. Results, heaven on earth, I devoured 2/3 of the entire rack, I let the women fight over the rest, and now I feel like a stuffed and sleepy emperor.